Saint Paul Outside the Walls is sometimes called the “Basilica Ostiense” because it is located on the Ostian Way. Paul the Apostle was brought to Rome as a prisoner. He was martyred between the years 64 and 67, during the persecution of Emperor Nero. His body was claimed by a Roman woman who buried it in her family tomb near a vineyard on the road to Ostia.

Apostle Paul by Rembrandt:

Emperor Constantine placed the Apostle’s body in a bronze sarcophagus with a marble slab over it. At the request of Emperor Constantine in 324, a basilica was built over St. Paul’s tomb.

This first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I in about 370. Since many pilgrims came to visit the site, Emperor Valentine II made plans for a larger building. Emperor Theodosius began the new building and Emperor Honorius completed it.

English: Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Rome) – the tabernacle of the confession

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura a Roma. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pope Leo III, further embellished the building and it became the largest and most beautiful church in Rome under his papacy. Of all the churches of Rome, this one preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. In 1823 it was almost completely destroyed by a fire.

St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome

In 1823, it was rebuilt and enlarged by the architect Poletti and modified by Guglielmo Calderini. It was completed in 1854.

Portrait of Pope Honorius I in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome Italian

Necropolis of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome

The interior of the current basilica has 80 monolithic columns of Montorfano granite divided into five naves. On the upper part of the walls, frescoes illustrate scenes from the life of St Paul. Against the internal wall of the facade there are six large alabaster columns presented by the Viceroy of Egypt to Gregory XVI.

St. Paul Outside the Walls Frescoes in Rome

Saint Paul Outside the Walls is located at the site where Paul was executed and buried.

Tomb of Saint Paul in Rome

It is located outside the Aurelian Walls. The the basilica was damaged during the Saracen invasions in the 9th century. Pope John VIII (872–882) fortified the basilica and the monastery forming the town of Joannispolis (Giovannipoli) which existed until 1348, when an earthquake totally destroyed the town.

Fortified Walls in Rome

Map of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Interior of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome

The Basilica was founded where his followers erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae. In the chapel of the relics, lie the chains that bound Paul the Apostle when he was improsioned in Rome. In the 5th century, this church was larger than the Old St. Peter’s Basilica.

The front of the basilica has ten monolithic columns of red Baveno granite. A huge statue of St. Paul dominates the entrance to the new building. The inscription on the base of the statue says “To the preacher of truth, the teacher of nations”.

Facade of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

The facade mosaic is the work of Filippo Agricola and Nicola Consoni. In the typanum, Christ is seated in the center giving his blessing. On his right side is Saint Peter and on his left side is St. Paul. Below the Lamb of God, the four rivers of Paradise flow.

The twelve sheep represent the Apostles who approach the Lamb from the holy cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

It was rebuilt by the architect Poletti and reconsecrated 1855 with the presence of Pope Pius IX and fifty cardinals. Many countries made contributions to the reconstruction efforts: the Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia sent precious malachite and lapis lazuli for the tabernacle.

Saint Paul

In the right corner there is a statue of St. Luke the Evangelist. Saint Paul is in the front of the basilica.

Saint Luke

Under the portico, the wall niches have statues of St. Peter and St. Paul by Gregorio Zappala.

Under Pope Gregory the Great (590–604), the basilica was extensively modified. He had the pavement was raised to place the altar directly over Paul’s tomb. The tomb is covered by a Gothic baldachino by Adolfo di Cambio completed in 1285.

Tomb of St. Paul

Here’s a virtual tour of St. Paul’s Tombhttp://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_paolo/vr_tour/Media/VR/St_Paul_Tomb/index.html. To make a portion of the tomb visible to religious pilgrims, the floor was lowered forming a confessio where people can pray. Directly below the altar, a grill-covered window reveals the stone sarcophagus. Carbon dating of the contents of the tomb indicated that the remains in the sarcophagus are from someone who lived in the first or second century indicating that they are the remains of the apostle.

Over Saint Paul’s tomb, Arnolfo di Cambio‘s Gothic tabernacle is resting on four porphyry columns. The four cornices above the niches of the baldachin have statues of Saint Peter, SaintPaul, Saint Timothy and Saint Bartholomew. Excavations located a first century tomb with a marble slab covering it with the Latin inscription “Paulo Apostolo Mart”. You can see a plaster copy of the slab in the Church Museum located off of the cloister.

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Rome) – the tabernacle of the confession Italiano:

St. Paul’s Tabernacle

Arnolfo di cambio (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

St. Peter statue by Arnolfo di Cambio inside the Vatican Basilica, dressed with a vestment on St. Peter and Paul feast. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Arnolfo di Cambio also created the bronze Saint Peter statue in St. Peter’s Basillica and the ptesepe in the lower level of Santa Maria Maggiore.

San Paolo Fuori le Mura’s interior has 80 monolithic columns of Montorfano granite from the isolated mountain on Lake Maggiore. It is divided into five naves. Above the arches over the granite columns, all the way around the interior of the Basilica, there are circular mosaic portraits of all the Popes, from the first to the present. Only the current pope’s portrait is illuminated. According to legend, when this Basilica runs out of space for these portraits of the popes, the world will end.

Statue of St. Paul Apostle in the Basilica San Paolo fuori le Mura (Rome)

On the upper part of the walls, between the large windows, there are 36 frescoes with the scenes from the life of St Paul. Against the internal wall of the facade there are six large alabaster columns presented by the Viceroy of Egypt to Gregory XVI.

In the Apse, there is a mosaic from 1220 showing a majestic Christ wearing imperial colors with St. Paul and St. Luke on his right and St. Peter and St. Andrew on his left. Chirst is holding a book that says “Come blessed of my Father and receive the kingdom prepared for you.”

Apse Mosaic

The palm trees represent paradise. The papal chair has a relief of Christ instructing Peter to feed the sheep.

From 1215 until 1964 this was the seat of the Latin Patriarch of Alexandria. The Holy Door was last opened in 2000 and there is a large plaque above the door commemorating the event.

The Holy Door (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The door pictured below on the right, is the work of Antonia Maraini and was cast in Florence in 1931. The cross on the bronze door is highlighted in silver and the horizontal bar bears the names of the evangelists. The verticle potion of the cross, has portraits of the Apolstles. The panels on the door depict scenes from the life of Saint Peter on the left and Saint Paul on the right. The figure of Christ shows him giving the keys to Saint Peter.

Nightview of Shanghai, shot from rooftop of Jin Mao Tower. Bottled wine import in China has dropped by over a quarter in both volume and value during January to April 2020 The post China: Wine imports drop but trade points to green shoots appeared first on Decanter.

Château Haut-Brion was among the very first properties in the region to introduce stainless steel vats for winemaking. Their histories, personalities and strengths... The post Bordeaux: The five first growths appeared first on Decanter.

Château Cos d'Estournel. The St-Estèphe second growth has become the latest big name to lower its release price early in the Bordeaux 2019 en primeur campaign. The post Château Cos d'Estournel 2019 released en primeur appeared first on Decanter.

The property includes five aflaj irrigation systems and is representative of some 3,000 such systems still in use in Oman. The origins of this system of irrigation may date back to AD 500, but archaeological evidence suggests that irrigation systems existed in this extremely arid area as early as 2500 BC. Using gravity, water is channelled from underground s […]

The nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of northern Italy are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to their symbolic spiritual meaning, they are of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the s […]

The monumental complex at Caserta, created by the Bourbon king Charles III in the mid-18th century to rival Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid, is exceptional for the way in which it brings together a magnificent palace with its park and gardens, as well as natural woodland, hunting lodges and a silk factory. It is an eloquent expression of the Enligh […]

Construction of this palatine chapel, with its octagonal basilica and cupola, began c. 790–800 under the Emperor Charlemagne. Originally inspired by the churches of the Eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire, it was splendidly enlarged in the Middle Ages.

In the district of Port Louis, lies the 1,640 m2 site where the modern indentured labour diaspora began. In 1834, the British Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it called ‘the great experiment’ in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves. Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured […]

Located inside the Arctic Circle in the central part of West Greenland, the property contains the remains of 4,200 years of human history. It is a cultural landscape which bears witness to its creators&apos; hunting of land and sea animals, seasonal migrations and a rich and well-preserved tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to climate, navi […]

The abbey, together with its monumental entrance, the famous &apos;Torhall&apos;, are rare architectural vestiges of the Carolingian era. The sculptures and paintings from this period are still in remarkably good condition.

The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. From 1755 to 1768, the conventua […]

The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries, houses and workshops in this early Christian holy city were built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in A.D. 296.

Instagram

The property includes five aflaj irrigation systems and is representative of some 3,000 such systems still in use in Oman. The origins of this system of irrigation may date back to AD 500, but archaeological evidence suggests that irrigation systems existed in this extremely arid area as early as 2500 BC. Using gravity, water is channelled from underground s […]

The nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of northern Italy are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to their symbolic spiritual meaning, they are of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the s […]

The monumental complex at Caserta, created by the Bourbon king Charles III in the mid-18th century to rival Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid, is exceptional for the way in which it brings together a magnificent palace with its park and gardens, as well as natural woodland, hunting lodges and a silk factory. It is an eloquent expression of the Enligh […]

Construction of this palatine chapel, with its octagonal basilica and cupola, began c. 790–800 under the Emperor Charlemagne. Originally inspired by the churches of the Eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire, it was splendidly enlarged in the Middle Ages.

In the district of Port Louis, lies the 1,640 m2 site where the modern indentured labour diaspora began. In 1834, the British Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it called ‘the great experiment’ in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves. Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured […]